A SINGLE-dose nasal spray treatment could ‘wash away’ build ups of toxic proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease from brain cells and improve memory, scientists say.
The study – performed on mice – paves the way for new treatments against Alzheimer’s and dementia, researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch said.
Alzheimer’s is thought to be caused by the abnormal build-up of two proteins in the brain called amyloid and tau, both of which have become an important target for treatments.
Deposits of amyloid, called plaques, build up around brain cells, while tau proteins form “tangles” within brain cells.
“In healthy brains, tau proteins help keep things in order,” Texas University researchers explained.
“But in neurodegenerative diseases, they can become abnormally twisted and form tangles that disrupt neuronal function and lead to cognitive decline.”
Current treatments aiming to break up these tau tangles don’t work very well as they struggle to penetrate compartments in brain cells where tau buildups reside, scientists said.
But their new nasal spray treatment “has shown promising results in clearing harmful tau protein build-up” improving the cognitive function of older mice with neurodegenerative diseases.
“This nasal spray approach opens new avenues for non-invasive delivery of tau therapeutic antibodies directly to the brain, and it holds promise for many neurogenerative diseases,” Dr Rakez Kayed, professor at the Department of Neurology at UTMB, said.
“Our research highlights the potential of nasal tau immunotherapy to effectively target intracellular tau aggregates – a primary driver of neurodegeneration and cognitive decline in diseases like Alzheimer’s and other tauopathies.”
Dr Kayed and his team a specific type of antibody – TTCM2 – which recognises and targets toxic tau buildup, which be delivered into the brain through the nasal canal.
This method bypasses what’s known as the blood-brain barrier.
This is a tightly locked layer of cells that helps defend your brain from harmful substances, acting as a filter.
It can pose a significant hurdle to administering treatments for neurodegenerative, but going through the nasal canal means the blood-brain barrier isn’t an issue.
For the study – published in the journal Science Translational Medicine – a single dose of TTCM2 was given to aged mice that had been genetically altered to produce human tau proteins.
After three hours, TTCM2 was distributed to various brain regions, compartments within cells where tau deposits were collecting, clearing out the toxic proteins.
Mice then underwent behavioural testing.
Those that had been treated with TTCM2 performed “markedly better” than other mice, suggesting that the treatment combatted short-term memory loss in mice with advanced tau tangles.
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The researchers also noticed an increase in biomarkers in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with memory formation and cognitive functioning.
Dr Kayed said: “This method not only improves the delivery of therapeutic antibodies but also enhances their efficacy in clearing tau aggregates and improving cognitive functions.”
Sagar Gaikwad, a postdoctoral fellow at UTMB, added: “This advancement could significantly impact the treatment strategies for Alzheimer’s and related tauopathies, offering new hope for millions of patients suffering from these debilitating conditions.”
Researchers say their findings could bring about future treatments for Alzheimer’s and dementia.
They plan to continue in their research by further trials and eventually exploring the potential of TTCM2-ms in humans.
“The goal is to translate these promising results into a viable treatment option for patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and other tau-related disorders,” they said in a press release.
It comes after experts warned that dementia diagnoses in England have reached record numbers.
